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A gunman on the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas Strip casino unleashed a shower of bullets on an outdoor country music festival below, killing at least 58 people and wounding more than 515, officials said on Monday. It was the worst mass shooting in the modern United States (US) history.

Police officers stop a man who drove down Tropicana Ave. near Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Ave, which had been closed after the mass shooting at a country music festival. ─ AFP

Country music star Jason Aldean was performing Sunday night at the end of the three-day Route 91 Harvest Festival when the gunman opened fire across the street from inside the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.

SWAT teams quickly descended on the concert and the casino, and officers used explosives to get into the hotel room where the suspect was inside, authorities said.

The gunman died at the scene and was identified by Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo as Stephen Paddock. A motive has not been ascertained as yet. Police are also looking a woman, identified as Marilou Danley, for questioning.

The gunman, identified as Stephen Craig Paddock, a 64-year-old retiree from Mesquite, Nevada, had as many as 10 guns with him, including rifles, the authorities said.

Asked about the motive for the attack, Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said: “I can't get into the mind of a psychopath at this point.” The sheriff said a check of federal and state databases showed Paddock was not on law enforcement authorities' radar before the bloodbath.

Aaron Rouse, the FBI agent in charge in Las Vegas, said investigators saw no immediate evidence connecting the attack to an international terror organization, despite a claim of responsibility from the militant Islamic State (IS) group.

“We are looking at excess of 50 individuals dead and of 200 individuals injured at this point,” Las Vegas Metro Police Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said at a press conference after the shooting.

US President Donald Trump took to Twitter more than 4 hours after the shooting started to offer his condolences.

The IS group has claimed responsibility for the mass shooting in Las Vegas, saying that the perpetrator was “a soldier” who had converted to Islam months ago, without providing any evidence to support the claim.

The group released two statements on its Amaq news agency on Monday, hours after the shooting.

It did not name the suspected shooter but said he had “executed the operation in response to calls to target countries of the coalition” batting the group in Iraq and Syria.

IS often claims attacks by individuals inspired by its message but with no known links to the group.

Gunfire starts mid-concert

Aldean was in the middle of a song when the shots came rapidly.

Police officers advise people to take cover near the scene of a shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip. ─ AP

Video of the shooting then showed Aldean stopping and the crowd getting quiet as if they were unsure of what had just happened.

The gunman paused and then fired another volley of muzzle flashes from the gold glass casino as more victims fell to the ground while others fled in panic.

Some said they hid behind concession stands and other crawled under parked cars.

Pictures taken at the scene showed revellers cowering in the street or running in terror, as well what appeared to be several bodies lying prone on the ground.

Kodiak Yazzie, 36, said the music stopped temporarily when the first shots began and the tune even started up again before the second round of pops sent the performers ducking for cover and fleeing the stage.

“It was the craziest stuff I've ever seen in my entire life,” Yazzie said. “You could hear that the noise was coming from west of us, from Mandalay Bay.”

Thousands in the crowd fled as the bullets ran rampant.

Monique Dumas from British Columbia, Canada, said she was at the concert, six rows from the front of the stage when she thought she heard a bottle breaking, and then a burst of popping sounds that may have been fireworks.

She said as she made her way out, it was “organised chaos” as everyone fled. “It took four to five minutes and all that time there was gunfire.”

In addition to Paddock, police said they located a woman who may have been his roommate Marilou Danley, 62. Lombardo said they believe this was a “lone wolf” attack.

Police and rescue personnel gather at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Ave after a shooting at a country music festival in Las Vegas, on October 2, 2017.—AFP

“It's a devastating time,” Lombardo said.

Police shut down the usually busy Las Vegas Boulevard and authorities across the state and federal ranks converged onto the scene as dozens of ambulances ferried those struck by gunfire.

'Beyond horrific'

Nearby Interstate 15 and flights at McCarran International Airport were also halted.

Hospital emergency rooms were jammed with victims delivered by ambulance. Others loaded the wounded into their cars and drove them to hospitals.

Jose Baggett, 31, of Las Vegas, said he and a friend were in the lobby of the Luxor hotel-casino directly north of the festival when people began to run, almost like in a stampede.

He said people were crying and as he and his friend started walking away minutes later, they encountered police checkpoints where officers were carrying shotguns and assault rifles.

Among those killed were two off-duty police officers who were attending the concert and two other on-duty officers were wounded, including one in critical condition, police said.

People flee the Route 91 Harvest country music festival grounds after an active shooter was reported. ─ AFP

Hours after the shooting, Aldean posted on Instagram that he and his crew were safe and said the shooting was “beyond horrific.”

“It hurts my heart that this would happen to anyone who was just coming out to enjoy what should have been a fun night,” Aldean said.

The shooting at the sold-out Route 91 Harvest festival is the worst mass shooting in modern US history. Forty-nine people were killed when a gunman opened fire at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando in June 2016.

Sunday's shooting came more than four months after a suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, that killed 22 people.

Almost 90 people were killed by gunmen inspired by the militant Islamic State group at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris during a performance by Eagles of Death Metal in November 2015.

Comments (66) Closed

Please don't label this as terror attack. It could be some deranged white guy.

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Amer Rao

Oct 02, 2017 02:42pm

Really its sad news, there should be strict gun control in USA.

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Observer - Canada

Oct 02, 2017 03:53pm

So sad.

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Bob

Oct 02, 2017 03:56pm

Gun control laws immediately needed in America. If you have a gun in hand you will always have an urge to use it. I think Trump is capable of bringing the required legislation.

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Dove

Oct 02, 2017 04:10pm

so sad, RIP

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Who caere?

Oct 02, 2017 04:11pm

Very sad. Condolences with the families of the dead and prayers for quick recovery of the injured. Seems to be gangster's act.

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Nagi

Oct 02, 2017 04:25pm

Sad news of day. RIP

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Ahmad

Oct 02, 2017 04:35pm

It's a sad incident. RIP all departed souls.

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Feroz

Oct 02, 2017 04:36pm

People with mental health issues roaming freely in crowds pose a real danger to life. My heart felt condolences to the families of the bereaved.

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Rokonaka tunni

Oct 02, 2017 04:46pm

Killing 50 people and wounded so many and world is like oh he is mentally ill. This act should be labelled as terrorism.

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SHAHRYAR SHIRAZI

Oct 02, 2017 04:48pm

Sad, my condolences to the victims families.

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Ahmad

Oct 02, 2017 05:07pm

God Bless the Departed Souls. Ameen!

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Omer

Oct 02, 2017 05:09pm

We need real gun control NOW!!!

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Miqbal rangoonwala

Oct 02, 2017 05:26pm

Very sad

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Abdulla Hussain

Oct 02, 2017 06:24pm

Very sad and regretful act. Innocent lives lost. Whatever the motive there can absolutely be no justification for such henious crime. My heart goes out with the affectees.

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A shah

Oct 02, 2017 06:31pm

RIP. Vegas is a amazing place. Hope people recover. God bless.

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brr

Oct 02, 2017 07:05pm

This is very sad.

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South Asian

Oct 02, 2017 07:27pm

@Sharjeel No bro you are wrong whose who die are innocent people those game players and politicians are the elites and they are always safe whatever the country they belong and the simple citizens have to suffer for there wrong doing

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Vasan

Oct 02, 2017 09:59pm

Professional suiter used his skills in a wrong place. RIP to those who post their lives. Sad day for the world. Stop selling guns to people who cannot handle their emotions.

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Ahmad Taj

Oct 02, 2017 10:39pm

It is white male. US should open eyes and check internal threats and stop accusing Muslims all the time.

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SHAHID SATTAR

Oct 02, 2017 10:41pm

Any loss of innocent lives through an act of violence is horrible to say the least. Even though it has been claimed by IS (it is strange that they have to recruit white Caucasians or perhaps the earlier volunteer races have stopped being their recruits) the emphasis on showing this as NOT an act of terrorism simply because a white man who was probably a christian or Jew or anyone else but not a Muslim did the dastardly act just goes to show the bias against the Muslims of the world. It is high time that the world realized that anyone carrying out such acts is a terrorist irrespective of the fact of being a member of any race or religion.

@Robert Any such killings and act of killing is a terrorist attack to the humanity.

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Indian Kashmiri

Oct 02, 2017 10:49pm

@Bob : Dude it's too late to do anything with gun control, if any law passes only the good guys will return the guns and the bad guys won't. US is deep into this they can't back off now.

The resolution will be the whole world getting united against terrorism, put more strict immigration bans until world becomes a better place.

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Ali

Oct 02, 2017 11:01pm

Thanks Dawn for providing the accurate information.

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pervez - London

Oct 02, 2017 11:04pm

This is gonna have bad repercussions on neutral Muslims like us whether we like it or not.

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AHAQ

Oct 02, 2017 11:24pm

They should atleast call it domestic terrorism

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zf

Oct 02, 2017 11:41pm

No terrorism involved. God Bless Guns in America.

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zf

Oct 02, 2017 11:41pm

No white guy could be a terrorist. No sir, doesn't work that way.

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Ayesha Sadozai

Oct 02, 2017 11:53pm

The USA is almost as bad as Pakistan where gun laws are concerned- anyone can get hold of guns and keep them and use them . And with such fatal results. It is high time for the US to take serious note of all these killings and the urgent need for tight and severe legislation to check this trend. But will this happen under the crazy Trump administration? I doubt it.

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KB

Oct 03, 2017 01:07am

Senators, please bring about gun control .
Stop making a Political football of the issue .
These people may have been alive had there been gun controls in place.

You should at least think if you are responsible or not

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farhat ansari

Oct 03, 2017 01:08am

A very regretful and inhuman action killing innocent people

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Shahbaz Jiskani

Oct 03, 2017 01:24am

So-called Islamic State (IS) has claimed to bebehind the attack, saying that Paddock had converted to Islam some months ago. By all accounts they are blaming on Islam.However, in reality ISIS is the their own puppets. U.S. should scrutinize that the world is now fully awaired of their dramas and propagandas against Muslims & Islam. Condolence to the families which were victimized in this Massacre.. RIP.

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Zeeshan Ahmed

Oct 03, 2017 01:47am

Please don't give further credibility to an unproven and utterly false claim, which even the FBI and law enforcement have dismissed.

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Mushtaq Ahmed

Oct 03, 2017 02:31am

Sick world.

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Adil Jadoon

Oct 03, 2017 02:33am

I guess there werevalways crazy people around but access to modern ammunition has increased the svale of these atrocities...sad day for all humanity

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Saad Bin Razzaq

Oct 03, 2017 04:30am

Condolences. Feel sad for the human life. Please stop the gun culture, it is not good for anyone.

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Dan

Oct 03, 2017 04:34am

@Bob You must not understand US politics. Trump is a republican. Republicans are all opposed to any gun legislation.

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Saad Bin Razzaq

Oct 03, 2017 04:34am

Feel so sad to see people always pointing out that Americans should suffer due to their political intervention in other countries. This is horrific. Human life regardless of the country, religion, etc should be respected and we should feel sorry for its loss and pray for others. Until we ourselves are not human we cannot expect others to treat us as one.

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M.Khan

Oct 03, 2017 05:25am

What a tragedy. Innocent concert goers mowed down by a lunatic. 59 lives lost to insanity of a deranged individual. And the irony is that the coward did not live to face the justice. No words can express the sadness of the occasion. May the departed souls rest in peace.

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afridi

Oct 03, 2017 06:01am

@Robert all other than Muslims if do something like this that is deranged man attack. but a Muslim do it that was a terror attack and one Muslim country must be attacked in revenge.

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Asif Farooq Awan

Oct 03, 2017 06:07am

Very Sad.

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mitali

Oct 03, 2017 06:14am

@Amer Rao what abt ur country, think of ur country first

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ex petarian

Oct 03, 2017 06:54am

Can someone please define terrorism!!! or does it only relate to when a muslim kills someone..

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Amer

Oct 03, 2017 07:10am

Terrorism ? No ! Just a deranged white guy with probably a mental illness.

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Akil Akhtar

Oct 03, 2017 07:35am

They would still not call it terrorism...as that is reserved only for a muslim....talk about an agenda and intolerance.

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bilal

Oct 03, 2017 07:44am

@Robert indeed. never a terrorism when whites are involved. whites are privileged.. your comments are spot on! i have seen this privilege in action in Metro Atlanta (Georgia)..

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bilal

Oct 03, 2017 07:45am

@Amer Rao nope. gun carry licenses are very legal. Issues are not the guns. Probably Assault rifles should be banned..

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Farooq Khan from US

Oct 03, 2017 07:45am

I am sad and at the same time I pray at for God's forgiveness for them.

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Shahmeer

Oct 03, 2017 09:18am

Sad :( RIP.

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Syed (Australia)

Oct 03, 2017 09:20am

This shows that we are still far from being called civilised, can I ask Americans why we need guns. There should be strict gun control in all civilised societies including USA. Can't we live without guns when there are securities forces are all around with so much tax money being spent on them. Please abolish guns from the society otherwise these incidents will continue to re-occur, one deranged person is enough to cause such havoc.

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AQ

Oct 03, 2017 02:13pm

US should look at his own mess before commenting and deploying forces in any other region.

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azeemab

Oct 03, 2017 03:45pm

so sad

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QAP

Oct 03, 2017 05:36pm

Sad very sad.

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Imran Riaz

Oct 03, 2017 08:49pm

Very sad incident. Horrible and Tragic.... Our condolences for the dead and sympathies with the the bereaved families and survivors...
This fanatic brutality is deplorable and there should be a control on Arms. The criminal is not human, I must say.

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Cricket-One

Oct 04, 2017 03:31am

@Robert Sure, when a white guy does it. He is mentally deranged. When a non white guy does it, it is terror from ISIS.

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SANA

Oct 04, 2017 06:50am

@AQ
why are you bringing politics into a sad and tragic event?
Show some humanity and express sadness for the innocent people killed unnecessarily by this mad man .

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SANA

Oct 04, 2017 06:52am

@Akil Akhtar
Look cops explained clearly. They have no idea of his intention. Until then they cannot label it domestic terrorism. US moves logically and step by step. So stop the drama already!

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SANA

Oct 04, 2017 06:56am

@Saad Bin Razzaq
"Until we ourselves are not human we cannot expect others to treat us as one.
Nicely said Mr Razzaq. Some of the comments here are shameful with people saying US deserves this. Whatever the US Govt. does, I have noticed how common people here are accepting of others and try to learn about other religions and cultures. Americans are also the biggest donors when there is any calamity- earthquake, tsunami etc.
Kids in schools are taught to respect differences- from the start. If you meet the younger generation here- they want freedom but also want freedom for others. They have many inter-racial and inter-religious friendships, and don't focus on someone being Muslim or gay or transgender or black or hispanic
The younger generation in the US is the most open minded.

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Mohit

Oct 04, 2017 09:43am

@Tamilselvan They want to spread TERROR, thats why, its opportunity for them to spread terror.

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Muhammad hasan Ali shah

Oct 04, 2017 12:13pm

Almighty God may help them according to nowadays public should be awarded of these circumstances

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Whatever goes around

Oct 04, 2017 12:59pm

in US there is a saying - Whatever that goes around, Comes around
The US is possibly experiencing it